A Calling to Race

There are somethings in life that are simply beautiful and to try too hard to explain them robs them of their beauty.  Yes, some of these things are sunsets and baby smiles but more often they are subtler.  I've learned that one of the most beautiful things we can see is watching a man fulfill his calling.  This isn't some mystic destiny where one man has one specific and finite destiny as we sometimes are tempted to think of callings, but it's the more broad "built to do something" type of way.  Newton was built to understand science, Da Vinci to paint, some people are built to work with their hands becoming craftsmen.  Some men are called to be dads and some women are called to be moms, and they can feel God's happiness with them when they are doing these things.  Think of Eric Liddel from Chariots of Fire.  He said that when he runs he feels God's pleasure.  He also had a calling to be a missionary in China (which he did once he ran in the Olympics).

I see many men throughout the week who are contently fulfilling their callings at what some may describe as less than glorious work.  But I see the wisdom in their work, often back-breaking toil of work.  The entire book of Ecclesiastes talks about finding enjoyment in your work in this lifetime but this is something different, something more.  Every man is called to work but few get to fulfill their calling in such glorious ways.

What's prompting all of this is an article I read today about one of my favorite race car drivers.  He is Alex Zanardi and I have been a fan of his since I was a boy.  Zanardi was dominate in CART (the IndyCar series that didn't race at the 500 when the schism happened).  He won back to back championships with Ganassi racing and then went for a couple of years with a small team in F1.  He was glorious.  I always enjoyed watching his racing.  Look up his pass on Brian Herta in the corkscrew at Laguna Seca sometime.  It's pretty amazing.  However, Zanardi's career, and almost his life, came to an abrupt end in 2001 in a race in Germany.  Exiting the pit lane Zanardi's car spun out and he was hit in the side of his car by another.  Both his legs were severed losing nearly 3/4 of all blood in his body.  But Alex Zanardi was built for, has a calling for, racing.

Zanardi began an ambitious rehabilitation program and even designed his own prosthetics.  Two years after losing both his legs Zanardi drove a specially designed car with hand operated clutch, brake and gas functions.  He finished the last 13 laps at the speedway in Germany where he had his crash (he had been leading at the time).  Not only did he drive well, but he was fast enough that he would have qualified 5th for the race had he been qualifying.  This event launched a new career in racing (though not in open wheel) where Zanardi would modify his race cars with the controls he needed to operate them, then compete at the top levels of racing including the internationally popular WTCC.

This in and of itself would be an amazing calling.  However, this calling was not just for racing cars but for racing in general.  This week Alex Zanardi won his second gold medal in hand cycling at the para-olympic games.  Some people are just built to race.

http://www.indystar.com/article/20120907/SPORTS0107/209080329/Alex-Zanardi-does-again-London-Paralympic-Games-?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CIndyStar.com%7Cs&nclick_check=1

- Hensel